Analysts at Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) from Hold to Buy today. Zacks Investment Research currently has a rating of Buy on the shares. As a means of comparison, a number of other analysts have spoken on the stock in recent days, and the company has secured a consensus one-year price target of $181.63, above the opening price of $167.68. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. stock has a 52-week high of $199.90. Usually, after analysts assign an upgrade report on a stock, they will subsequently issue periodic revisions, such as a price target change.

U.S. stocks closed higher Tuesday as investors anticipate the results of meetings from the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.05% rose 9.79 points, or less than 0.1%, to close at 18,129.96.

The S&P 500 index SPX, +0.03% advanced 0.64 points to finish at 2,139.76, led by gains in the health-care and consumer-staples sectors.

The Nasdaq Composite index COMP, +0.12% gained 6.33 points, or 0.1%, to close at 5,241.35.

Yesterday Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) shares last traded at $166.47, which represents a jump of $0.26 over the previous closing price. Opening at $167.68, they fluctuated from $166.39 and $168.28 throughout the day.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) currently has a market cap of 70.98B.

The stock’s average daily volume is 2,907,380 shares out of a total float 376,280,000 and some 1,533,159 shares traded hands yesterday, 87 percent lower than the norm. Look for trading volume to pick up in the coming days as investors often use increases in trading volume to determine substantial volume aggregation or dissemination by institutional investors.

While increased trading for short periods will not mean much, however, a trend of heavy trading volume on the buy side over a series of days or weeks expresses a positive indicator to market traders that institutions may be moving in, so institutional sponsorship is very important.

Institutional sponsorship simply refers to ownership of a stock by mutual funds, banks, pension funds and other large institutions.

These professional investors have substantial teams of analysts researching thousands of stocks. So watching their interests is a good way to make sure you are buying the right stocks.

By following the activity of these professional investors—and the moving averages they influence— traders are able to make make educated trades.

Trades for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) have ranged from $138.20 – 199.90, and the stock now has a 50-day MA of $165.78 and 200-day MA of $158.34. Today’s last price is 0.17% under the 52 week high of $199.90.

Indeed, earnings growth is among the most critical things to look at in regards to stock investing and, accordingly, investors seek companies that have increased their earnings at least 25% or more over 3 consecutive years.

DISCLOSURE: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors, and do not represent the views of the website. Readers should not consider statements made by the author as formal recommendations and should consult their financial adviser before making any investment decisions. To read our full disclosure, please see our terms and conditions page.